Rodriguez, Holmberg cuts from Reds slight shocks

David Holmberg was somebody that was considered to be in the mix for the rotation until a shin injury. Getty Images/Rob Tringali(Photo: Getty Images)

GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Of the 16 players cut Tuesday, only two were even mild shocks: Infielder Henry Rodriguez and left-hander David Holmberg.

Holmberg, 22, came to the Reds from Arizona in the three-team trade that sent Ryan Hanigan to Tampa Bay.

Holmberg has an outside shot at making the rotation if Mat Latos isn't ready.

But Holmberg had to shut things down for a few days after taking a ball off the shin.

"We had to skip him and push him back," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "He ended up pitching in that (intrasquad) game yesterday. He wasn't real sharp. Right now, we're just building up guys ahead of him. Especially with (Alfredo) Simon in there, it was going to be hard to get him the repetitions and get him stretched out. We would have liked to take a longer look at him.

"That being said, should he go out and be the best pitcher in Triple-A for us, he's still head of the class if we have any issues with our starting rotation. But he's got to get regular work to get himself locked in."

Rodriguez, 24, has a .297 career average in the minors, but he's limited defensively. The Reds designated him for assignment when they picked up right-hander Brett Marshall on waivers, just before camp. Rodriguez was re-signed after he cleared waivers.

"We all think very highly of Henry," Price said. "He's been in the system awhile. He's always been a great kid. He's well-liked in the organization. We felt like he wasn't going to get the same amount of playing time as in years past after coming off the roster.

"It just didn't make much sense to ask him to change his role and become more of support player. I imagine someone's going to sign him relatively quickly and give him a chance to play more."

LATOS UPDATE: Mat Latos threw breaking balls for the first time this spring in a bullpen session yesterday.

"He had a long bullpen – 40, 45 pitches," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "He threw all his pitches – his curveball, his slider. He felt really good. We'll see how he comes out of it today when he goes out to play catch. We anticipate the next step to be a live batting practice session toward the end of the week."

Latos is coming off Feb. 14 knee surgery, but he also had arthroscopic elbow surgery on Oct. 11. He had not thrown breaking balls since the elbow surgery.

Latos could get in a game after the live BP session.

"A lot of it is going to be what we see – if he's sharp, how he comes through it," Price said. "But I think he's getting very close to being game-ready."

HANNAHAN UPDATE: Jack Hannahan will go with the team to Camelback Ranch Thursday for the game with the Dodgers. He'll pinch-hit. It will be his first game action of the spring.

Hannahan is coming off offseason shoulder surgery. That curtailed Price's plan for him.

"We're hoping he'd be physically ready because we wanted him to spend time at all the infield positions and maybe play some left field," Price said. "He's not ready to defend yet with his throwing arm."

Price is big on players playing multiple positions.

"We've been playing guys at their second and third position to see what value they provide," Price said. "I know Jack hasn't played a great deal of shortstop in the big leagues, however, if you need a guy to play over there for a game or two, it would be nice to know he's capable. It's just finding a different way to rest your regulars and get your bench guys at-bats."